Fever win Commissioner's Cup, deny Lynx repeat

MINNEAPOLIS -- Natasha Howard had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on Tuesday night as the Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final.

The Fever were missing All-Star guard Caitlin Clark, who has been sidelined since June 24 with a strained groin. That didn't slow down the Fever, who overcame an early 13-point deficit with balanced scoring and a stout defensive performance against the team with the best record in the league.

Indiana was a 10.5-point underdog, making this the seventh win this season by a double-digit underdog, and first such win for the Fever.

Minnesota had its worst offensive performance of the season, shooting 34.9% from the floor and making 4-of-16 3-pointers after averaging 9.4 3-pointers this season. The loss snapped the Lynx's 14 straight wins as a double-digit favorite in regular-season games

Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points while Aliyah Boston, Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell each scored 12 points. Howard earned unanimous MVP honors.

Alanna Smith led Minnesota with 15 points. Napheesa Collier had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Courtney Williams added 11 points but had six of the team's 16 turnovers.

Smith hit a 3-pointer and made an acrobatic layup to cap a 12-0 run that gave Minnesota an 18-9 lead.

The Lynx stretched their lead to 27-14 early in the second quarter. But they were held scoreless for the final 8:17 of the half, gong 0-for-10 from the floor as the Fever stormed back. Cunningham hit a pair of 3s as Indiana closed the quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 32-27 lead at the half.

The last time the Lynx went 8 consecutive minutes without scoring a point was back on Aug. 4, 2011, against the San Antonio Silver Stars.

The Fever built their lead to double figures as Howard scored 10 points in the third quarter and the Lynx never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

When Minnesota rallied to cut their deficit to 60-51 midway through the fourth quarter, Cunningham buried her third 3-pointer of the night to silence the crowd and send the Fever on their way.

The Lynx beat the New York Liberty on the road in last year's Commissioner's Cup final. Minnesota earned home-court advantage this year by virtue of its league-best 14-2 record.

The Fever became the fifth winner in the history of the Commissioner's Cup, which started in 2021. They take home a $500,000 prize pool.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.